An insulating panel having the characteristics indicated above is described in the European patent application EP 1 548 202 A2 by the same Applicant. The insulating panel that constitutes the object of said previous proposal consists of a prefabricated monolithic modular component, equipped with one or more auxiliary units, specifically photovoltaic units, and equipped with their respective connection cabling, ready for installation.
The use of panels of this type is advantageous, since the installation of such panels may be performed using methods similar to those envisaged for conventional panels, but such an installation achieves the dual result of, on the one hand, obtaining or equipping the outer surfaces of buildings, and in particular, roofs, and, on the other, of simply and easily obtaining the availability of a photovoltaic system without the need for a dedicated support frame, and with the advantage of being able to pre-assemble the auxiliary units on the insulating panels in the workshop, before installation of the insulating panels.
In the specific embodiment illustrated in EP 1 548 202 A2, the means destined to hold each photovoltaic unit in position over the corresponding insulating panel comprise brackets attached to the insulating panel with screws. This solution is not wholly satisfactory, since it involves the creation of holes—to use the fixing screws of said brackets—in the structure of the insulating panel, which may not be desired, and which in any case requires the execution of time-consuming operations.